A woman gently shook Seraphina's shoulder.

"Seraphina... wake up, dear. It's time for school."

Seraphina's eyes fluttered open, heavy and slow. For a moment, she didn't know where she was. The ceiling was familiar — too familiar. The same crack in the plaster. The same faded yellow light from the window. The same suffocating feeling in her chest.

She blinked.

"Aunty... Diana?"

Her voice came out as a whisper, cracked and dry.

Aunty Diana smiled warmly. "Yes, dear. You fell asleep again. Come on, get ready. You don't want to be late for school."

She patted Seraphina's head gently, then turned and walked out of the room.

The door clicked shut.

Seraphina sat up slowly, her body heavy with exhaustion. She stared at her hands. They were trembling.

She closed her eyes.

"I died again..."

The words left her lips like a secret she couldn't keep anymore.

"I died... and I'm back."

She clenched her fists.

It wasn't a dream. It was never a dream.

The memories flooded back — fragments of the game, the freezing time, the shadows, the white-eyed girl who smiled with pity and whispered "Welcome to the Hell Game."

The fall.

The darkness.

The cold.

And then — nothing.

Until she woke up here again.

Same room. Same ceiling. Same fake reality.

She looked around the room, her eyes scanning every corner. The same books on the shelf. The same clothes on the chair. The same mirror on the wall — cracked, just like the one she fell through.

She traced the crack with her eyes.

"I've been stuck in this hell for half a year now," she whispered. "Six months of running, hiding, dying, and waking back up in this nightmare."

She counted on her fingers.

"First time I died from the curse — it caught me in the library."

A shudder ran through her.

"Second time, I fell from the roof trying to escape."

She swallowed.

"Third time..."

She couldn't finish.

It didn't matter.

They all led to the same place — back to this bed, back to Auntie Diana's voice calling her to wake up.

She took a shaky breath.

"This is my 7th restart."

The number felt heavier than it should. Seven chances. Seven deaths. Seven times she had hoped this would be the last.

But it never was.

She looked at the door.

"Is there really an escape door...?"

The question hung in the air like smoke — fragile and hopeless.

She didn't know the answer.

No one did.

But she had to find it.

She had to.

Because if she died one more time...

She wasn't sure she would wake up again.

She swung her legs off the bed and stood up slowly. Her legs felt weak, like she had run a thousand miles. Maybe she had. In the game, she ran. She always ran.

She walked to the window and looked outside.

The streets were quiet. Normal. Too normal.

People walked by, laughing. Birds sang. Life went on.

None of them knew.

None of them saw.

To them, she was just a girl going to school.

But Seraphina knew the truth.

She was a player in a cursed game.

And she had to survive.

No matter what.

She turned away from the window and whispered to herself.

"I'll find the truth this time. I'll fix the mirrors. I'll find the door."

She paused.

"And I'll get out of this hell."

She grabbed her bag and walked out the door.

The prologue ends.

The classroom buzzed with the usual chaos of students shouting, laughing, and throwing paper airplanes across the room. In the back corner, near the window, Seraphina slept with her head resting on her arms, oblivious to the noise around her.

She stirred slowly, blinking against the harsh fluorescent light.

"You guys are too loud..." she murmured, her voice heavy with sleep.

The bell rang, shrill and final. School was over.

Seraphina stretched, gathered her bag, and walked out of the classroom, slipping her headphones over her ears. Music filled her mind as she made her way home through the familiar streets. The trees swayed gently in the breeze, and the sun cast long shadows across the pavement. It was a peaceful afternoon, but something felt wrong. She couldn't explain it — just a nagging feeling in her chest that something was waiting for her.

She pushed the thought aside and walked through her front door.

"How was your day, Seraphina?" her mother asked from the kitchen.

"Good," Seraphina replied, setting her bag down. "If lunch is ready, please bring it to my room."

She climbed the stairs and entered her room, tossing her bag onto the bed. She stood in front of the mirror, brushing her hair absently. Her reflection stared back at her — tired eyes, messy hair, a face that looked older than it should. She leaned closer, examining the faint shadows under her eyes.

Her mother appeared in the doorway, holding a tray of food. She saw Seraphina looking at the mirror, and her face instantly twisted with fear.

"SERAPHINA!" her mother shouted, dropping the tray with a loud clatter.

Seraphina spun around, startled. "What happened, Mother?!"

"How many times do I have to tell you?!" her mother's voice was sharp, almost desperate. "Do NOT look at the time in the mirror!"

"Mom, I was just looking at my hair—"

"Don't lie to me!"

Seraphina's frustration boiled over. "When I stay quiet, you say I'm ignoring you! And when I talk, you think I'm talking back! What do you want from me?!"

Her mother fell silent, her expression softening into something sad and exhausted.

Seraphina's voice dropped. "You never explain anything. You just scold me and tell me what not to do. But you never tell me why."

Her mother looked away. "I put your lunch on the bed," she whispered. "Come eat it."

"I'm going out," Seraphina said coldly.

She turned to leave.

Her mother's voice came out as a broken whisper — so quiet Seraphina almost didn't hear it.

"I'm sorry, Seraphina... I can't tell you..."

Seraphina paused at the door.

For just a moment, she could have sworn she saw a dark figure standing behind her mother. It had no face, no shape — just a shadow that seemed to breathe.

She blinked.

It was gone.

Seraphina shook her head and walked out, convincing herself it was just her imagination. But deep down, she knew she wasn't imagining anything.

Seraphina sat in the garden, her knees pulled to her chest as she stared at the flowers swaying gently in the breeze. The petals danced in the warm afternoon light, but she barely noticed them. Her mind was elsewhere — stuck on her mother's strange behavior, on the fear that flashed in her eyes every time Seraphina walked past the mirror in her room. It didn't make sense. It was just a mirror. A piece of glass framed in wood. So why did her mother act like it was something dangerous? Why did she flinch? Why did she yell?

"Looking at the time in the mirror..." Seraphina muttered to herself, pulling at a blade of grass. "Nothing ever happens. I don't know what's wrong with Mom."

She let out a heavy sigh and leaned back, staring up at the sky.

The clouds drifted lazily overhead. Birds chirped in the distance. It was a perfect afternoon — warm, peaceful, quiet. But Seraphina couldn't enjoy it. Her mother's voice echoed in her head: "I'm sorry, Seraphina... I can't tell you..."

Why couldn't she tell her? What was she hiding?

Just then, a voice called out behind her, breaking the silence.

"SERAPHINA! SERAPHINA!"

Seraphina turned to see Cassia running toward her, out of breath, her hair wild and her face flushed from the heat. She was waving her arms frantically, like she was trying to signal a plane.

"Cassia? What are you doing here?"

Cassia bent over, planting her hands on her knees as she gasped for air. "Do you know... how far I ran... to find you?!"

(Cassia was Seraphina's cousin. Her mother, Diana, was the sister of Seraphina's mother, Lyar. They had grown up together, shared secrets, laughed until they cried. But lately, Cassia had been acting strange — too cheerful, too eager. Almost like she was hiding something behind her smile.)

Seraphina raised an eyebrow. "I'm guessing you need something from me?"

"We're having a group study for the test!" Cassia exclaimed, grabbing Seraphina's hands excitedly. "Will you join us?!"

"Oh, I have my own plans—"

Cassia grabbed her hand and started dragging her across the garden before she could finish.

"WHY ARE YOU TAKING ME TO YOUR HOME?!" Seraphina protested, stumbling after her.

"Because you always promise to join group study, and you always make excuses!"

"I WAS BUSY!"

"You're always busy!" Cassia shot back, grinning.

They arrived at Cassia's house. Inside, Adrian was lounging on the couch with a bored expression, flipping through his phone. He looked up as they entered, his eyes widening with surprise.

"Wait, she actually came?" Adrian said, sitting up.

Aurora gasped dramatically from the other side of the room, her mouth falling open. "IS THAT REALLY SERAPHINA?! SHE ACTUALLY SHOWED UP?!"

(Adrian and Aurora were childhood friends of Seraphina and Cassia. They had been through everything together school, birthdays, late-night study sessions, and endless teasing.)

Cassia flicked Aurora's forehead. "Yes, you dummy."

"OW!" Aurora whined, rubbing her head.

Seraphina groaned. "Why did you bring me here, Cassia?"

"Adrian said—"

"You promised to join the group study last time," Adrian interrupted, smirking.

"So what? That means you can drag me to your house and force me to study?"

"Exactly."

Emily stepped forward, crossing her arms with a smug look. "Yes. And now what are you going to do about it?"

Seraphina's eyes narrowed. "I wasn't talking to you."

"There's no rule that I can't talk just because you're speaking to someone else," Emily shot back.

"It's called manners. When adults are talking, children should stay quiet. But you're spoiled—"

Cassia stepped between them. "STOP! Can we just study?"

Emily scoffed. "She started the fight—"

"Is she also joining the group study?" Seraphina asked coldly.

"Why, are you worried?" Emily smirked.

"Don't make me laugh."

Cassia pushed Emily gently toward the door. "Emily, for my sake, please go."

Emily's expression flickered with hurt. "You always take her side, sister. Always."

She walked away.

Cassia stood in silence for a moment, then turned back to the group.

"Alright. Let's start studying."

Seraphina glanced at the mirror on the wall.

For just a moment — a split second — her reflection didn't move with her.

She blinked.

It was normal again.

She told herself it was nothing.